Tribological properties of powder metallurgy - Processed aluminium self lubricating hybrid composites with SiC additions

In this experimental study, aluminium (Al)-based graphite (Gr) and silicon carbide (SiC) particle-reinforced, self-lubricating hybrid composite materials were manufactured by powder metallurgy. The tribological and mechanical properties of these composite materials were investigated under dry sliding conditions. The results of the tests revealed that the SiC-reinforced hybrid composites exhibited a lower wear loss compared to the unreinforced alloy and Al-Gr composites. It was found that with an increase in the SiC content, the wear resistance increased monotonically with hardness. The hybridisation of the two reinforcements also improved the wear resistance of the composites, especially under high sliding speeds. Additionally, the wear loss of the hybrid composites decreased with increasing applied load and sliding distance, and a low friction coefficient and low wear loss were achieved at high sliding speeds. The composite with 5 wt.% Gr and 20 wt.% SiC showed the greatest improvement in tribological performance. The wear mechanism was studied through worn surface and wear debris analysis as well as microscopic examination of the wear tracks. This study revealed that the addition of both a hard reinforcement (e.g., SiC) and soft reinforcement (e.g., graphite) significantly improves the wear resistance of aluminium composites. On the whole, these results indicate that the hybrid aluminium composites can be considered as an outstanding material where high strength and wear-resistant components are of major importance, predominantly in the aerospace and automotive engineering sectors. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.